Bagan is where my heart is. The medieval city is one of the archeological wonders of the world and the immortal soul of our country, Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. In 1227AD, Burma witnessed the Mongol forces entering through its gates after all the resisting Burmese forces had subjugated along the way. It was the beginning of a new era. Bagan never rose again to the former dynastic glories of nearly 300 years. Nominally, it was a vassalage to the Mongol empire for three years, with a puppet Burmese, ‘King Kyaswa’, on the throne. The Mongols did nothing bad to the city. China had toned them down and they had become Buddhists. Their military plans for the Bagan empire were mainly to outflank China, where their seat of power was.
The Mongol empire in history was so extremely badass, almost the whole of Eurasia was overrun by their forces. That was from Korea to Germany, from Siberia to Afghanistan, and parts of South East Asia. Due to their conquests, between 40 -60 million of the world population was wiped out.
They were the ‘Scourge of God'.
During their sieges of 'Novgorod' (Russia), 'Baghdad'(Iraq), and the Crimean city of 'Kafka', almost nobody inside the cities would come out alive, that was what genocide was.
Bagan was left, still almost as it was before the time of the Mongol occupation. This is how one humane act of the conquering forces spared a world wonder from destruction and left it as a place of world heritage. ... Thank you, Mongols!
People all over the world annually flock to Bagan to experience and feel the wonders of its ancient architecture. They love to call it 'The Manhattan of the Ancient Times.' They love the city, but the point is we only can still enjoy it this way because the Mongols did not destroy the city like they did to all the other world capitals elsewhere.
Yes, kindness never fails. It always is a contribution to the world.
Note: [Bagan] It is estimated that over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries once stood on this 100 sq km plain in central Myanmar, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas are still present.
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